We are gate crashing the party! 
Newcastle Who? Americans Are Starting To Get It
The photo at right typifies the what-the-hell-is-that reaction I get when I wear my Newcastle United shirt in public here in the US. This was shot at the spur of the moment (no pun intended) by my significant other after Saturday’s match, when we hopped on our bicycles and pedaled to Milwaukee’s Lake Michigan beachfront to celebrate the victory over Tottenham with a couple of tiki-hut margaritas (flimsy cups, no salt, room for improvement). The back of the shirt reads CABAYE, adding another level of perplexity here in Wisconsin, where a former American footballer named Favre has a monopoly on the number 4.
What happened a few minutes later, though, was perhaps more interesting. Another tiki-hut patron, an American male probably in his 20s, popped over to our table to slap a high five. “I’m glad they’re hanging onto Cabaye,” he said. I told him any buyer would have to survive sticker shock first. And with that, I had what I believe is my first Newcastle conversation with an American I didn’t meet through this blog or in a pre-soccerized context like a soccer bar or last summer’s tour.
Earlier in the day, in the English expat-run pub where I watched the match and one that isn't normally frequented by our small local band of Magpies, I sidled up to the bar for a drink, next to a Tottenham supporter, an American. He eyed my shirt sideways, gave an acid grin and said, “You've got to be kidding." As if Newcastle having American fans was a long-dreaded, finally materialized sign of the apocalypse. I commented later from our blog tweet, “One of these days some fan in a US pub is going to see my NUFC shirt and call me a bandwagon jumper. Then we'll have arrived.”
It’s happening. While the total audience is still small compared to the major American sports, soccer is the fastest-growing sport on US television. The Premier League is gaining too many American fans too fast to divide between just five clubs. I wrote after last summer’s tour that the distinctive kits, the brown ale-fueled familiarity of the name, and the unequaled passion of the existing fans make Newcastle an attractive alternative to the so-called big clubs in the US. Now there’s the sudden and vast improvement in the club itself. For Americans, Newcastle United is crashing the party at just the right time.
Posted by Bob at 12:23 PM | Permalink
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